In re DeBartolo

DeBartolo (plaintiff), applying to the Illinois bar, gave the wrong location and date for his high school attendance, omitted numerous prior residential addresses, and disclosed accumulating 200 to 400 parking tickets in law school which he claimed were all paid or successfully contested; at his hearing challenging the Committee's (defendant) refusal to certify his character and fitness, DeBartolo offered no explanation for the high school discrepancies, and evidence showed he had a history of falsely presenting himself as a police officer and had used undisclosed addresses to register to vote and obtain a driver's license, despite favorable testimony from friends and relatives. The Committee voted to deny certification, and DeBartolo petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court.